The present invention relates to a radio controlled surfboard having a motorized robotic rider in the nature of a toy or amusement device wherein the robotic rider is controlled by a two-string roto-wing.
The present invention was designed to imitate the act of surfing as close as possible to real life surfing via a remote controlled surfboard in an effort to generate the realism and excitement in order to be marketable to surfers and surfboard enthusiasts. The present invention is a toy motorized surfboard with a robotic rider, designed to perform almost every maneuver from all the different aspects of human surfing. The result is an easily maneuverable, directional toy that handles with enough precision to host a new competitive radio control sport.
The applicant has two patents on radio controlled toys. The surfboard patent (hereinafter Derrah ""88) had some difficulties in operation. First, the motor room was overheating and the run time was stifled due to the number of batteries in the compartment and small size of the compartment. The new invention includes an aluminum heat sink device via an aluminum keelson to cool the motor. The aluminum heat sink expels motor room heat out into the ocean, pool or pond. This modification allows the surfboard to work properly for a longer time. Second, the weight of robotic figurine in the prior invention was too heavy due to the presence of a servo in the robotic figurine""s back. The applicant has improved upon these short comings in the present invention. In contrast to the prior art, the present invention has a robotic rider controlled by a two string roto-wing, which eliminates the need for the servo in the back of the figurine. The upper body of the robotic rider has been made lighter by removing the servo and reducing the number of joints in the prior figurine. The rider needs to be lighter in order to properly and efficiently right the surfboard after capsizing. Also, in an effort to imitate real surfing, the size of the board relative to the size of the rider can be maintained by reducing the weight of the rider. The new surfboard includes a small rudder and two side fins used to steer the surfboard.
The need for motor room cooling for electric powered radio-controlled vehicles is as old as battery power itself. Cars and planes can rely on air cooling without consequence. However boats have to be careful of taking in water when trying to pass air by the motor and batteries. Boats usually rely on the combination of a water-cooling coil surrounding the motor; and a dry air venting system to expel the hot air that builds up in a typical battery powered engine room. The venting system being the most effective method. However, the typical radio-controlled motor room cooling coil system fails to adequately cool the tremendous amount of heat created from a big cell battery pack that is located right next to a high RPM electric motor. In a radio controlled toy, the cooling coil""s diameter is too small and the volume of water traveling through the coil tubes is at a trickle and therefore not adequate for cooling purposes. Other problems include: air void problems and the potential of debris blockage. Despite the cooling coil""s faults, most remote controlled toy boats make-out okay with them; especially the larger ones, because the engine rooms are big; with high ceilings and vents to expel the intense motor room heat.
In the radio-controlled surfboard, there is no chance for the air to pass in or out of the motor room due to its small size. Also, when the waterproof deck is screwed shut neither air or nor water can penetrate it. It is necessary to have the deck screwed shut due to the fact that the surfboard is more or less under water like a submarine and must be water tight.
The typical problem found when running radio-controlled surfboard is that run-time is stifled by overheating of the motor. This is especially true with the new high capacity, long running nicad cells batteries and metal hydride battery cells between 2400 MHZ and 3000 MHZ. These batteries are capable of running at high speed at full throttle for ten minutes or more. However the same batteries run in a remote controlled toy surfboard give about five minutes of high speed at full throttle and three minutes of slow speed at full throttle; and this is with the assumption that it starts out with a stone cold motor.
This sport of radio-controlled surfing is not advancing if you only get five minutes or less run time. Additionally, after the motor overheats, the board and rider need to be taken out of water, dried off, unscrew and have the deck removed; and then wait thirty minutes for the motor to cool, or in the alternative; to change both motor and batteries every time it runs. The prior art radio-controlled surfboards would overheat catch fire, melt a hole in the hull and sink before you would get forty-five minutes in the water running. There was a need for a change to allow for motor cooling and prevention of overheating. The present invention addresses these short comings by providing a cooling system by way of the heat sink aluminum keelson. This new heat sink keelson design will be able to take advantage of the long run batteries of the future.
The other problem with the pre-existing surfboard toy is that it does not right itself automatically. The shortcomings of that invention was that the user needed the assistance of an on-coming wave and or dramatic body movements back and forth to right the surfboard. The keelson design combined with the new-age heat sink motor and battery mount accomplishes a righting moment. It provides some ultra low profile keel ballast useful in righting the surfboard.
There are many different ways to make a robotic rider""s upper torso twist from port to starboard and vise versa. Some of these are outlined in the Derrah ""88. No prior art in the radio control surfing industry has surfaced that is as simple, inexpensive, and lightweight as the present invention of a two string roto-wing.
This new design is an improvement upon the Derrah ""88, Radio-Controlled Surfboard with Robot. The robotic movements of a rider on a surfboard deck continue to be carried out in this new design. As disclosed in the prior patent, body movement #2xe2x80x94the upper torso movement and body movement #1 the movement of the lower body over the deck of the surfboard, both are controlled with the novel roto-wing. However, body movements #3 and #4 outlined in Derrah ""88 and Derrah ""71, a skateboard patent # 6,074,271 are eliminated with this new design. The two string-roto wing makes a big change in body movement #2. The body movement #1 is used and it remains essentially the same as in Derrah ""88xe2x80x94FIG. 4 with the difference being that the leg connector is attached directly to the front leg, as opposed to a relay mill connecting to the rear foot.
In this remote controlled toy in marine use, there is a need for the robot""s upper torso to be ultra lightweight so the surfboard and rider can right itself after a wipeout without adding too much keel weight or increasing the size of the surfboard. This new design of a two-string roto-wing provides a simply, inexpensive and corrosion free solution.
The wing shaped servo arm named roto-wing, pulls two lines, port string and starboard string that work in-sync to twist the robotic rider""s upper torso. One string pulls as the other lets go and vice versa. Because the roto-wing is part of the body movement branch; when the body moves, the wing moves, so in turn the upper torso twists. This new design is similar to Derrah ""88 (as shown in that patent in FIG. 23, FIG. 24, FIG. 25), but without the servo and roto-wing outside the surfboard providing more movement. The replacement of the roto-wing eliminates the need for the servo in the back of the rider making the rider lighter in weight and allowing the surfboard and rider to right itself easily after a wipe-out.
The two strings of the roto-wing are made with clear fishing line that is virtually invisible from a ten-foot distance. The port string travels from the port knot through a hole at the port end of the roto-wing down through the port deck guide then travels up through the port waist guide at the right side of the robotic rider""s waist. The same sequence takes place on the starboard side. Both the port string and starboard string are tied to the center arm loop. The center arm loop sticks out from the rider""s arm, and is preferably made of stainless steel wire but can be of any material that can be secured into the rider""s arm and hold the string secure, and the length and placement is critical to centering the upper torso.
The two string pulling action of the roto-wing can be seen in FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 by comparing string travel. These two body movements #1 and #2 really make radio controlled surfing an intense and exciting adventure. The realism achieved by the robotic movements of the rider gives the impression that the rider is real, and is really responsible for steering the surfboard by thrashing its body about and seeing the surfboard respond. The other advantage is that the rider in the act of leaning its weight over the surfboard sinks the affected rail of the surfboard deep into the wave, which enables the surfboard to take advantage of the many pockets of energy present in all breaking waves; especially top to bottom barreling waves. This recreated movement is the same way a real surfer propels himself on real wavesxe2x80x94weighting and un-weighting at the right times. When a rider sinks a rail at the apex of a turn at the same time he is at the trough or bottom corner of a wave; where the water is sucking up the facer of the wave; the rider accelerates out of that pocket of the wave like a rocket doubling or tripling his speed. The xe2x80x9creal surfingxe2x80x9d situations are possible to be created with this robotic rider because the rider is able to lean out, over and sink a rail; like real surfers. The fact is that 70% of the steering is done by the rudder and 30% of the steering is done by the rider leaning over the surfboard. In comparison to rail sinking where 10% of the rail sinks by rudder and 90% of the rail sinks by the rider""s body hovering over the surfboard rail. This robotic rider and surfboard turns amazingly tight and smooth when carving. This combination of a rudder turning in sync with a rider""s body movement was claimed in Derrah ""88, but with a jet steering nozzle instead of a rudder; and has now been proven to be the ultimate way to run a remote control surfboard. With this design, the rider""s body movements assist steering to a degree where it does not require a real deep or twin deep rudder to turn this surfboard and rider sharply; or even on its length, this design allows a smaller rudder therefore it can run in shallower water without breaking off a rudder. Additionally, if the rudder did break off, a user can still steer it home with the assistance of the towed-in side fins combined with the body movement.